Motor vehicle door assemblies typically include an internal partition or wall that separates a “wet side” in the door assembly from a “dry side.” Such walls typically contain large access openings that allow the assembly of the door content. These access openings are sealed with large flexible water-shields which are held in place on the wall by butyl adhesive or other appropriate means.
Water tightness is directly dependent on the adhesion of the continuous butyl bead. The assembly process is somewhat difficult and susceptible to operator error in wetting out the butyl bead with proper pressure. Significantly, any resulting leak could lead to costly repairs and adversely impact customer satisfaction.
This document relates to a new and improved water-shield as well as to a motor vehicle door assembly incorporating that new and improved water-shield. Advantageously, the new and improved water-shield includes an integral drip ledge that may be displaced between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the water-shield lends itself to manufacturing without causing a die-lock condition. In the second position, the drip ledge extends through the access opening and at least partially encompasses the margin of the wall defining the bottom portion of the access opening. As a result, the drip ledge functions to effectively divert water away from the adhesive joint between the water-shield and the wall and toward the wet side of the door assembly.